Q & A: Rebecca Schoneveld

I am pleased to introduce you to wedding dress designer, Rebecca Schoneveld. She was recently in Denver for her trunk show at a&be bridal shop {LISTmember}. Rebecca Schoneveld Bridal is a line of modern, romantic dresses. Using luscious fabrics and classical, fluid silhouettes, Rebecca Schoneveld designs dresses that emphasize a woman's natural beauty, making her not just look beautiful but feel utterly gorgeous, too. How did you learn your craft? My mom started teaching me to sew when I was 4 years old, and I never stopped loving it. I decided in high school that I didn't want to my career to feel like "work", so I chose to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York which has a wonderful, rigorous program which really helped me hone my technical skills. Describe your style and designs. I love classical, balanced design and really beautiful, high quality fabrics. To me, these are the most important foundations to any successful design. I'm also just an unfussy person- I appreciate simple yet thoughtful designs that let the woman inside the gown be the star and let her individual personality shine through, not overpower her as some gowns can do. Growing up, I studied ballet quite seriously and that love of movement and feminine strength definitely still influences me. What or who inspires you? My grandmother is my style icon- She is still the chicest woman I know. She wore a fabulous long sleeved, light blue satin Dior-inspired gown for her first wedding in 1947 and at her second wedding in the 1960's she wore a hot pink Jackie-O inspired suit. Where did you grow up? I was born in Menlo Park, California (before the tech boom!) and lived there til I was 7, at which time we moved to a small town in Pennsylvania about 2 hours from NYC. My mom's side of the family has been in California since the gold rush and my dad's side of the family is from the Netherlands as far back as we can trace! I was home schooled as a kid (along with my 3 brothers and one sister), so we had plenty of time outdoors and learning hand crafts, cooking, making imaginary fairy lands in the woods, camping out- it was a great way to grow up! If you weren't designing dresses, what would you be doing? Oooh, hm. I think I would work in holistic health in some capacity. I actually was quite close to going back to school to get my master's in Acupuncture but then those plans got derailed/redirected (in the form of the pregnancy of my older son!) and as life would have it, I ended up starting my bridal line which really does feel like the best career for me! What is your favorite thing about visiting Denver? I just love getting to know a city that is new to me and that has so many exciting things happening for it! The revival of city centers and historic neighborhoods is always really intriguing to me, so that's been really great to see here. photography by our contributing photographer rachel gomez And ladies, if you are still looking for you perfect dress, you must check out a&be bridal shop {LISTmember}. It is the source for a stylish, unique wedding gowns without the fuss! a&b� is accessible in both style and price.